Page 52 of Claimed By Werewolf
The hallway to the church felt longer than it ever had, each step loud against the old boards, and every sound behind us muffled by the bass thumping through the main bar.Smoke from the bonfire drifted in through the open door, carrying that sharp mix of pine and diesel.
Demi walked half a step behind me, and her fingers brushed the back of my hand to help ground me.
Tremor’s voice rumbled through the cracked door at the end of the hall.Mac and Coup were in there with him; I could hear Mac’s low responses, Coup’s short answers.Prez said nothing, which meant he was listening.
I pushed the door open.
The room fell silent.
Every man in there looked up.The overhead light buzzed and flickered once before settling.Tremor stood beside the table with his hands on a folded map.His grin spread slowly.
“Was wondering when you’d wander in, brother.”
“You knew I was coming for you,” I said.
Mac shifted in his chair.“Wolf—”
“No,” I said.“It’s time.”
We stepped in far enough for the door to shut behind us.Demi stayed in the doorway, pale but steady.
Tremor leaned on the table.“You got something to say, say it.”
“You killed Tyler.You did it for yourself, not for the patch.”
Mac’s jaw clenched.Coup’s pen froze halfway through a number.Even Prez looked up.
“The kid was a threat,” Prez said.
I shook my head.“He wasn’t a fucking threat.He was an innocent who didn’t deserve to die.Tremor didn’t even give him a chance to speak, let alone explain.”
Tremor chuckled.“Since when do we let rats run their mouths?”
“He wasn’t a rat!”Demi screamed.“He didn’t want to die!”
Mac looked sick.Coup wouldn’t lift his eyes.
Tremor’s grin didn’t falter.“The kid was a rat.Everyone here knows it.”He pointed at Demi.“And your fat ass shouldn’t even be in here.This whole club is going fucking crazy worrying about a rat and letting women into church.Nobody cared about the kid before she got here.Fuck her and fuck you, Werewolf.You’re a pussy-whipped punk.”
“No,” I said.“Everyone here just decided not to care about the kid, and you’re the one who is a punk.”
He moved around the table.“You care now because of her.You didn’t before.”He nodded toward Demi.“That’s your mistake, pussy-whipped bitch.”
“Maybe,” I said, “but at least I still know what’s right.”
He stopped a foot away.“You planning to take me out in front of your family is the right thing?”
“This isn’t my family anymore.”I glanced at Demi.“She’s the only family I have now.You and this club can get fucked.”
Tremor’s grin was all venom.His hand twitched toward the knife on his belt.“Then allow me to take you out in front of your bitch.”
“Don’t!”Mac barked, but Tremor was already moving, too fast for me to grab my own knife.He lunged fast and with pure fury.
I caught his wrist, but the blade grazed my arm before we slammed into the wall hard enough to shake the frames.Demi screamed my name, and the world went narrow and red.
He drove an elbow into my ribs.I shoved him off and slammed him against the table.
Wood cracked.Papers scattered.Coup bolted with his laptop clutched tight.Mac froze between us and the door, useless.
